subscribesubscriber servicescontact usabout ussite map
Sun, Jul 05 2009 

Published June 13, 2008 01:11 am -

Disaster averted on trip to Jack’s Fork River



I was standing at the edge of the rushing stream and holding my kayak.

It wasn’t far to the other side, 12 feet at the most, where a scraggly brush pile lay snagged in a willow bush. Hanging by its reel from one of the lower branches was my fly rod with its tip bouncing and swaying in the swift water just inches below.

Just about two months earlier, Harry Rogers and I had both received e-mail from our buddy Carl Daugherty. He and his co-worker at Empire District Electric Company, Earl Lipscomb, were putting together a fishing trip to Jack’s Fork River. Carl was excited about finally getting to fish with Earl, who’s quite an expert on that river. Harry and I signed up immediately.

The Jack’s Fork River is near Mountain View, Mo., and is part of the National Parks Service’s Ozark National Scenic Riverways. It’s nearly 45 miles long, and I’d heard that the fishing is excellent.

We held a planning meeting over lunch at Woody’s on north Main Street in Joplin. Although I arrived ahead of Carl and Harry, I recognized Earl right away. He was wearing an Empire District shirt and sitting at a big corner table with stacks of maps and pages of handwritten notes all around him.

Earl spoke with authority as we poured over the maps during the meeting. As we travelled the thin blue line of the river along each map, he answered every question and only occasionally did he have to check his notes. Carl was right, we liked him immediately.

The trip was planned. Carl, Harry and I were to leave on Monday and meet up with Earl at the river access at Rymer’s Landing, near Mountain View later in the afternoon. We’d camp there for the night. The next morning we would shuttle the boats upstream to the Missouri highway 17 bridge and float back to our base camp at Rymer’s.

Over the past few months, Carl had been assembling a special camp trailer using various parts from several other trailers. The cabin section was taken from a rusted wreck that he and Harry rescued from a farmer’s field. He named the assemblage “Tag” and this was its maiden trip.

It was just before noon when Carl backed Tag up my driveway and we began loading. Carl comes prepared and both the Navigator and the trailer were already pretty well packed. I pared down my gear as best I could and then slid my kayak onto the trailer’s custom rack. After a stop at the service station for air, we were on our way to Carthage to pick up Mr. Rogers.

The trailer did fine below 50 miles per hour. Beyond that, it began a gentle swaying motion that grew more violent as we accelerated. At 60, the side-to-side motion was joined by a sort of gallop where one tire would remain on the pavement while the other rose into the air. The horrified looks on the faces of passing motorists caused us to slow down and enjoy our leisurely drive.

Once in Carthage, we partially unloaded the trailer and repacked, moving more of the heavy equipment to the front. Tag behaved itself, and Harry, Carl and I were on our way to the river.

Earl had gone on ahead to check river access points. He intermittently called to give us progress reports as a cell signal was available.

The narrow paved county road gave way to a dirt lane as we followed Earl’s detailed directions. A hand-painted sign nailed to a tree finally appeared that read “River Access.” Another sign, on the same tree, warned about “No Stopping” and another stated “Beware of Dog.” As if on cue, a large rough-looking dog leapt from the bed of an old truck sitting on blocks near the porch of a farmhouse and began barking and chasing our vehicle. The owner didn’t need that sign. We never once considered stopping.

Finally, we rounded a bend and came to a parking lot and a large wooden sign announcing “Ozark National Scenic Riverways — Rymer’s Access,” and there was Earl standing beside his truck with two canoes on the rack.

We followed Earl for a quarter-mile down the lane and found a near-perfect stream-side campsite all ready for us to reserve. Just across the river was a broad tall bluff which completed the picture nicely.



print this story    email this story    comment on this story   

Click to discuss this story with other readers on our forums.


Add a comment on this story





monster
autoconx
Premier Guide
Find a business

Walking Fingers
Maps, Menus, Store hours, Coupons, and more...
Premier Guide
Click here!!

We Blog!
We Pod Cast!

We Twitter!

: Special Offer For New Subscribers : 32 buy 1 get 1 free offers

Click Here!

TV LIsitngs



Find a job! Find a Home! Find a car!
Featured Jobs

LIFEGUARDS
All shifts available, Apply in person at either Joplin Family Y location.
www.joplinfamilyy.org.
...>MORE

TRUCK MECHANIC

needed for Waste Corporation of Joplin. Competitive pay and benefits package. Requires candidate to own hand tools
...>MORE

DELIVERY DRIVER
We have a full time position open for a delivery driver. Position consists of working part time in the warehouse in addi...>MORE

LOCAL DRILLING COMPANY
needs a rock driller. Must have experience in hydraulics. Company vehicle provided. (417)662-7267...>MORE

OPINIONS WANTED
For legal research project. Participants will listen to presentations and express their opinions. Project scheduled for ...>MORE

EMERGENCY SERVICE WORKER
EMERGENCY SERVICE WORKER/ EMERGENCY ROOM ADVOCATE Part-time position in women’s treatment/ trauma program. This positio...>MORE

PCA 'S AND CNA'S
PCAs and CNAs In Joplin and surrounding areas. Call 417-206-7878....>MORE

OLIVE GARDEN

Now accepting applications Line Cooks, Dishwashers, and Lunch Servers
Interviewing 2-4 p.m. Monday through Fr
...>MORE

REVETER WANTED
EXPERIENCED for brake manufacturing. Please apply in person at 3215 E. 20th, Joplin, MO. ...>MORE

ACCOUNTANT.

Expanding CPA firm: full time, degree/ computer skills required. Audit/tax experience preferred. Send resume to P
...>MORE

See all ads

Featured Transportation

2006 CHEVROLET HHR LT
automatic, 40,000 miles, loaded with options, $6200. (417)434-2949....>MORE

YAMAHA 1999 ROAD STAR
Yamaha, 1999 Road Star 1600 excellent condition, less than 10,000 miles, saddle bags and highway lamps. $3500. Cell phon...>MORE

1999 CHEVROLET TAHOE
2 door, 2 wheel drive, barn door rear, lowered, custom paint/grill/wheels, asking $5500. (417)781-1932, or cell (417)437...>MORE

1990 GMC HIGH SIERRA
short wide bed, 2 wheel drive, V-8, power windows/locks, air, CD, tinted windows, chrome wheels. $2,000 or best offer. (...>MORE

1932 FORD
5 window, coupe, glass body rolling chassis, torch thrust, 2 wheels, etc, $18,000. (417)781-1932, or 417-437-9942...>MORE

2005 HONDA SHADOW VLX 600
2,000 miles, color white, $3950. (417)673-3860....>MORE

NEED 2 DRIVERS
with 3 years plus $ miles with turn arounds back to Joplin, MO. Home often. 417-325-7320....>MORE

FORD 2001 ESCORT
FORD, 2001 Escort, 4 cylinder, automatic, good condition. $1800. (417)437-5682....>MORE

GMC, 2006
2500 4x4, regular cab/bed, 133,000 miles, $9850. (417)214-0022....>MORE

1979 CHEVROLET CORVETTE
350 automatic, $5000 or trade consider. (620)230-0459...>MORE

See all ads

Featured Homes

2-3 BR
Basement, newly remodeled, oak cabinets, nice wood floors, privacy fence. $79,200. 2525 N. Ozark. (417)483-0900....>MORE

OWNER FINANCE
OWNER FINANCE. $650 down, $435 monthly. 201 N. Washington, Joplin, 3 BR, garage, Full price $32,500. 417-359-4113. ...>MORE

HANDYMAN SPECIAL
Handyman Special, only $500 down, owner financing, 11% interest, $345/ month, priced at $23,900. 1120 W. 12th Street (41...>MORE

OPEN HOUSE
405 Keeney Street, Carl Junction. Sunday July 12 • 2 p.m.-4 p.m.
This home is owned by Carl Junction R-1 School Di
...>MORE

INVESTORS OR START-UP
INVESTORS OR START-UP 1217 Central. $67500 2 bedroom, 1 bath, very nice,room to build more. See more at homesbyowner.co...>MORE

LAKE FRONT MOBILE
Lake Front Mobile Grove, OK 1972 14 X 46 1 Bedroom, 1 bath lake front mobile home weekend getaway. Complete with furn...>MORE

OPEN HOUSE
OPEN HOUSE 7/5/09 1:00-4:00 2281 sq. ft. Updated kitchen 4 br + bonus room 2 living areas Metal roof. Stapleton school ...>MORE

See all ads

Other Cool Stuff

2002 LOWE TAHITI
2002 Lowe Tahiti 22 Deck Boat with 2002 Johnson 150 hp motor, fully loaded and lake ready, $12,500. (620)856-5165 or (41...>MORE

NASCAR
Indy Brick Yard 400, 7/26/09,
2 at $90. 417-483-1460.
...>MORE

ANTIQUE RADIO
ANTIQUE Radio; hanging lamps; china cabinet; carnival glass; Singer featherweight machine; 2 ladies and men diamond ring...>MORE

LAB MIX
black female, spayed, 3 years old, and 2 puppies, male/female, up to date vet care, $35 each. Refundable with proof of s...>MORE

MALTIES PUPS
$150-$300; Yorkies, $300; Morkies-$200. 592-7827, leave message....>MORE

PATTERN TORCH
Industrial, $500. (417)781-1932....>MORE

AMPLIFIER
1953 Gibson BHR, $250. (417)437-9942....>MORE

ATTEMPTING TO LOCATE
realitives of late father, Aziel Murphy, who married Maxine Steele, of Oklahoma, on June 10, 1929. Contact Tresa Collins...>MORE

24' BAJA OUTLAW
24’ BAJA Outlaw beautiful closed bow boat, 454 Mag, all options, excellent condition, low hours with 2005 trailer, $16,0...>MORE

LOST: 10 YEAR OLD YELLOW LAB

Goldie has on a flea collar, lost 6/28 between Oak Grove and Tipton Ford. PLEASE call 417-438-2828.
...>MORE

See all ads


 

Community Newspaper Holdings, Inc.CNHI Classified Advertising NetworkCNHI News Service
Associated Press content © 2009. All rights reserved. AP content may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Our site is powered by Zope and our Internet Yellow Pages site is powered by PremierGuide.
Some parts of our site may require you to download the Flash Player Plugin.
View our Privacy Policy
Advertiser index

 

 

The Joplin Globe Electronic Edition